Chapter 678: You are not. [1/2]
{Are you certain about this, Limitless?}
Caught off guard by her comment, I looked up to the massive being in front of me.
"Huh? What do you mean Juno?"
{They are your kin. That is to say you are of the same kind. Would you be alright fighting against among yourselves when your number so few?}
"…"
I hadn't thought about what it would look like from her perspective. If you compare the number of reapers to the number of monsters Juno's observation was spot on. But that was if you forget the billions of people on Earth. While she only saw a few humans, for me there were already far to many.
{I am honored that you treat me as an ally despite what I am. But would it not reflect badly on you? As far as I knew, we are the first group to aid you.}
'Ho? Juno was really smart. She rapidly learning about reaper interactions. The monster even understood the implications of our alliance and had the foresight on the danger it would bring.'
'Indeed, she really is too smart to be labeled a mere monster. Dearest, we should quickly come up with a new term for her kind. The distinction would allow Hellsend to understand the difference.'
'Unfortunately, so long as their appearance is that of monsters, humans would remain afraid of them. Beloved, as one who was discriminated for just appearance, I know of the sadness and injustice that awaits them. No matter how hard they try they will never be treated as equals.'
'Liv, your compassion is misplaced. Such might be true on Earth. But in Hellsend, there is no need for such things. In our domain, if you cannot fight, you will die. Only fools would remain obstinate about race in such a situation. Husband do not worry about such trivialities.
Juno and her people can take care of themselves.'
Hearing the words of my lovers, I am again reminded of the lessons from Anime and Manga. In most fantasy and Sci-fi settings, discrimination about race was never absent. Human elitists found their way into the top ranks in some way. Naturally those that despised humans similarly were a staple.
In such stories, the MC's were often tasked with uniting the fragmented groups for a greater purpose. Was IRIS telling us to do the same here? In most of the literature especially games, the correct action was to leverage everything you could to win.
Being able to play as non-human characters was practically a requirement if you wanted your game to succeed. In games, you only needed everyone to attack the same thing. In novels and manga, you needed to manage various races so they do not kill each other.
Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, Demonkin, hell even Catgirls were common allies. But there was also plenty of stories about how their internal relationships affected the world.
Elves were known to be lazy and arrogant punks due to their long life and beauty. Greed, curiosity and gluttony were the quirks Dwarves had in exchange for being blessed in crafts and intelligence. Everyone knew this. And the fact that they hated each other was also something universal.
A part of me began to wonder if these races actually existed for real. IRIS might have created the media all to ensure we would know how to act with them even before we met them.
Feeling that I would only get lost in thought due to the realization from IRIS's wisdom, I faced Juno and answered truthfully.
"I don't mind Juno. There is a saying among my people. 'Even the strongest shield is useless if it's cracked.' I have no need for burdens. I have a goal. My values are centered on that goal. Everything else is unnecessary."
{I understand. That does simplify things.}
"I wouldn't think too much about it Juno. My {Kindred} are going to attacked by Reapers in a couple of days. Reapers are not as united as we think we are. We have values and goals that force us to act against each other's best interest."
{Then you are similar to us. Regardless of if we all were born in this place, we are all still pretty much enemies. But may I ask what {Kindred} means?}
I then stopped in front of Juno and gestured to Liv, Lilly and Jas.
"They are my mates. The ones who help me survive and the ones who give me affection. To me, my {Kindred} are the most important things in my life. The ones with us now are three of them. Everyone please introduce yourselves."
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"Greetings, Juno. My name is Lilly Browning Smith. I am one of the {Kindred} of Limitless. I look forward to working for you. Thank you for coming to our aid."
"I go by Jasmine. Pleased to meet you."
"Thank you for your army's support earlier, Juno. I am Liv Ivaldi Smith. In return, please let me help find your children."
{Please to meet you all. I am Juno. I can see your mate cherishes you all very much. You are welcome, it is the least we can do. I would have already died if not for your mate. But Limitless, I have a question.}
Surprise that she even had one, I dig deeper.
"What is it? I will answer it if I can."
{You say your {Kindred} are most important. Yet you leave four of them to be attack and are instead helping me? Why? Shouldn't you be with the ones who are not here?}
I nodded at her logic. She was truly paying attention and seemed to have the ability to form her own assumptions based on what she heard. Granted enough interaction, I was sure Juno would learn enough to integrate with humans in the future.
"You are correct. Normally I would be with them. But I am currently helping one of my people. In short just like you, I came here to get someone back from the vampires. And I intend to let them know the price of stealing what is mine."
{Then is this person your {Kindred} as well? Because if she is not, why do you risk your other {Kindred} dying all because you are here?}
"The name of the one we are to rescue is Evelyn. I do not save her because she is my {Kindred}. I come for her because I am her king. And while I am indeed afraid of my other mates getting hurt, I trust them."
{…}
I notice that the monster tilted its head, as it made small stomps. Was Juno showing unease? In human psychology, people often moved their bodies when they felt anxious.
"If there is something on your mind ask."
{Why do you risk so much for one who is not your mate? Your concept of what a King is confusing. Did you not become a king to have others die in your stead? You risk death for those under your rule why?}
I see. To the monsters, my actions made no sense. They were nothing if not practical. The monsters save those that they have relation towards and abandon everyone else. This was the difference between culture and race.
While some animals formed communities the concept was wildly different. Ants and insects who formed hives. Wolves who made packs. Horses that acted as a single herd. There were a lot of ways everything not human interacted.
However similar to them, even humans created different forms of government, it was natural to act based on one's beliefs. And most of the time these beliefs were rarely the same.
"Then if your egg was not among those were stolen, would you have not fought the vampires?"
{Yes. Apart from the ones who had their eggs stolen my other sisters all wish to die. Roach similarly does not believe in anything more than the survival of the Lizardkin. To him, going after eggs is foolish. Naturally I disagree.}
That made sense. Jo said Roach already had his family killed off once. He probably does not grow too attached so that he does not break when he losses them.
Funnily enough, I felt the links of my {Kindred} stir. The emotions they contained surprised me. They were not hostile feelings, but more of pity, resignation and sympathy.
'I suppose to a man who had 100 sons, one dying was of no consequence. But to a mother who only had a single child, their weight would be different,' I thought inwardly.